Pieces of My Heart: A Life
by Robert J. Wagner, Scott Eyman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert J. Wagner, Scott EymanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-23
ISBN: 0061373311
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Book Reviews of Pieces of My Heart: A Life
Book Review: Oh, RJ -- be still my heart.
Summary: 5 Stars
I initially purchased Robert Wagner's autobiography because his late wife, Natalie Wood, is my favorite movie star. I wanted more insight into her personality. The book does have quite a bit about his two marriages with Natalie, and about the fading studio system in Hollywood in the fifties which brought them together. It also chronicles the devastation brought on by her untimely death by drowning. But this book is a surprisingly compelling portrait of a handsome, charismatic, approachable leading man who has been in the limelight for most of his life.
I really didn't know much about Robert Wagner when I started reading this book. I had seen most of his movies, and I liked his old television series "Hart to Hart" with Stefanie Powers. But I knew nothing of his personal life, or about his background. The depiction of his journey from young rebel to solid leading man to Hollywood icon is told here with great charm and in-depth self-examination.
Of course the big surprise is the revelation of his early romance with the much older Barbara Stanwyck when Wagner was first starting off in Hollywood -- she was twice his age and the relationship lasted four years! But there is fascinating information all through the book about Wagner's love affairs, his co-stars and his friendships with other Hollywood legends. He is especially lovely when writing about his current wife, Jill St. John, herself a sex symbol and Bond girl, who helped him get over Natalie Wood's death. I also like that he writes warmly about his close relationship with his children.
I recommend this book highly to film buffs and those who enjoy movie star biographies and memoirs. Robert Wagner comes across as a wonderful man, and one who is still sexy as all get-out.
UPDATE: This memoir mentions that Wagner and Wood travelled to London in 1976 to do Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" for Laurence Olivier. Natalie Wood played Maggie, Wagner played Brick and Olivier played Big Daddy. Wagner calls the production his "professional high point."
I just discovered that the production, along with four other plays directed by Olivier, is available on DVD in a collection called Laurence Olivier Presents. So for Natalie Wood fans who are longing to see her in something new, or for Wagner fans who would like to see him in a truly pithy dramatic role, here's your chance.
Summary of Pieces of My Heart: A Life
A moving, candid, and deeply personal look at the triumphs and tragedies, lovesand heartbreaks of one of Hollywood's most popular and enduring stars.
Handsome, suave, and sophisticated, Robert J. Wagner has starred in more than one hundred films and television series over the past fifty years. In this deeply personal story, he recalls his rise to stardom. He talks candidly about his relationships with some of the greatest stars of the 20th century, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, and, for the first time, he shares the details of his two marriages to Natalie Wood. Wagner also offers a fascinating look at Hollywood during the last half of the 20th century.
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